DPR concerned about civilian casualties in upcoming Ukrainian attack

Saturday, February 10, 2018 - 17:41

The Ukrainian command is hatching plans to encircle Donetsk and Lugansk, civilians may be affected, and cities may undergo carpet bombing, said the Vice-Commander of the Operational Command of the Donetsk People's Republic, Eduard Basurin.

"Take the developments of 2014, this is, basically, very similar (to the AFU plans – ed.) When Donetsk, Lugansk were covered immediately from four directions, followed by the approach to the Russian border. The situation is repeated. That plan has not changed, in fact, so we can talk about an attempt to seize the two capitals of the two republics, it is possible," Basurin said on air of the Russia-24 TV channel.

He noted his concern that mass casualties among civilians and actual destruction of cities may take place.

"About 80% of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been retrained to NATO standards, which is frightening, because if you look at how the NATO soldiers are fighting, actually those are Americans, this is complete annihilation, scorched earth, carpet bombing, squaring. Then units arrive, assault groups that finish the cleansing. The latest example is what happened in Iraq, in Mosul," the DPR Command representative said.

"In international law, there is (a definition) – this is genocide, when the ethnic population is destroyed," he said.

Shortly before, referring to intelligence reports, Basurin said that a group of officers of the US Armed Forces had arrived in Donbass to check the Ukrainian forces’ readiness for the offensive.